Divergent - Four's POV
by WritingPassi0n
Summary: This is a retelling of the book "Divergent" from the point of view of Four/Tobias. Focusing on Four's time as instructor of the initiates, and not rushing straight to FourTris (though it will obviously come later!) All rights go to Veronica Roth. Rated T for language and mild suggestive themes.
1. Chapter 6 (Four Meets Tris)

_**I do not own nor have the rights to Divergent.**_

_(Context: It is the end of Chapter 6 in _Divergent, _where we first met Four in Dauntless headquarters.)_

* * *

"Four, hurry up and get over here! Initiates will be dropping down any minute!"

I slowly ease myself out of the gray plastic chair I was settled in for the last half hour, and stretch my arms.

"Coming, Lauren," I call.

I stroll toward the net that Lauren is checking over. Today is the Choosing Ceremony, where every sixteen-year-old in the city chooses which faction they want to represent for the rest of their life. They get to decide whether they want to remain in their current faction or switch to one of the other four. Some stay in their factions, and others convert factions, forever changing their path of life. I remember going through this process two years ago, when I was sixteen.

When I reach the net, I help Lauren stretch it out and make sure that it is ready to be landed upon by the new initiates. I look up at the sky through a large hole in the ceiling. Those who chose the Dauntless faction at the ceremony today will drop through the hole onto the net, a test of their bravery.

"Alright, time to place our bets," a voice calls from behind me. My best friend, Zeke, has entered the room, and is making his way towards Lauren and me.

"First jumper is definitely gonna be a Dauntless-born," Lauren states. "It's almost always is one of them."

"My money's on a Candor," Zeke counters. "They're gonna want to prove themselves early on with their arrogant attitudes."

I think for a second. "I'm gonna guess Erudite this year. No reason why, just a wild guess."

Zeke helps us finish our task with the nets. "You guys think Eric is gonna check out the initiate training this year? He's been talking about welcoming new members a lot for the past few weeks."

"Probably," Lauren says, before rolling her eyes. "He'll definitely make sure the new initiates know who's boss around here."

I smirk. Eric is the leader of our faction. I've known him since he was in my initiate class two years ago, and he's not the most pleasant person that I've ever met. He's hated me ever since I finished first in our class, and he finished second. I don't like him much, either, mostly because he's rude, arrogant, and a straight-up asshole. But I, along with everyone else in Dauntless, have to put up with him, so I try not to cause any problems between the two of us.

"I better go make sure the initiates' dormitory is ready to go," Zeke's voice snaps me out of my thoughts. "See you guys at dinner!" He waves goodbye and saunters out of the room.

Lauren takes a seat on the ground. "So I'm taking the Dauntless-born initiates this year, right?" she asks me. I nod. Last year, it was swapped, and I took the Dauntless-born initiates, and she took the faction transfers. I wasn't really a fan of the way we did it last year, and neither was she, since I was a faction transfer and she was Dauntless-born, and the Dauntless-born initiates were just cocky and snippy.

"You think we'll get a lot of transfers this year?" I ask her.

"Probably not. We normally get just a few. Mostly Candor and Erudite. Maybe one or two Amity. You think we'll get any Abnegation?"

"Nope. It's not like anyone ever transfers from there." I was the first transfer from Abnegation in years.

And then that's when the net shakes. Lauren jumps up, startled. Both of us are shocked to see that someone is laying there in the net. I meet eyes with Lauren. We didn't even hear it. There wasn't even a scream.

We both grab the net and reach out our hands to help the person out. That's when I notice it's a girl, wearing gray clothes. _Abnegation._

The girl grabs my hand and I help her out of the net. She has blonde hair that frames her face, and grayish-blue eyes that stand out from her narrow face. Her body is tiny, and when she stands up, she's short, barely reaching my shoulder in height.

"Can't believe it," Lauren says from behind me. "A Stiff, the first to jump? Unheard of."

"There's a reason why she left them, Lauren," I reply to her. Immediately, this girl and I have something in common. We both come from the same faction. She must have some story as to why she left them. No one ever leaves Abnegation, and if they do, it's never for Dauntless. I'm pretty sure I was the very first one.

"What's your name?" I ask the girl.

"Um..." She hesitates for a second.

"Think about it," I say, slightly smiling to try and help her out. "You don't get to pick again."

A few seconds later, she finally decides. "Tris." She says firmly.

"Tris," Lauren repeats. "Make the announcement, Four."

I take a breath. "First jumper - Tris!"

A crowd of Dauntless members, who just arrived to see the new initiates, begin to cheer for Tris. They yell and shout, pump their fists and clap their hands.

Seconds later, the crowd is still cheering when another girl falls through the hole, this time screaming her head off. Lauren helps her off, and she faces the crowd of Dauntless, who are now laughing and cheering for the newcomer. This new girl is wearing a Candor outfit, white and black.

I face Tris again, and place my hand on her back. "Welcome to Dauntless."

* * *

_(A/N): I hope everyone enjoys this first chapter of my new fanfiction. A lot of the details in this are similar to what's in the book, as I am using the dialogue and events straight out of Divergent to make everything accurate. Please leave reviews about what did and didn't work, so I can improve this story as it continues on! Thank you!_


	2. Chapter 7 (Initiates' First Dinner)

_**I do not own nor have the rights to Divergent.**_

**Thanks for all the reviews on the first chapter! Enjoy this next one!**

_(Chapter Seven of Divergent)_

* * *

After Tris and the Candor girl, the other initiates fall down into the net, one by one, and Lauren and I each help them out. When they are all standing on solid ground, we lead them down a narrow tunnel that eventually reaches The Pit. After a few minutes of walking, we reach the point where the hallway splits, one way going to The Pit, and the other going to the cafeteria. We stop, and Lauren and I turn to face the crowd of initiates behind us.

"This is where we divide," Lauren says. "The Dauntless-born initiates are with me. I assume _you_ don't need a tour of the place."

In a matter of seconds, the Dauntless-born initiates have broken away from the group and are following Lauren towards the cafeteria. I look at the small group of nine faction transfers in front of me.

"Most of the time I work in the control room," I start. "But for the new few weeks, I am your instructor." I take a deep breath, before telling them my nickname. "My name is Four."

The Candor who jumped after Tris speaks up. "Four? Like the number?"

"Yes," I say. It's obvious that she and the other initiates think it's a strange name to have. "Is there a problem?"

"No."

"Good. We're about to go into The Pit, which you will someday learn to love. It -" I am cut off by the Candor girl, who begins to giggle.

"The Pit? Clever name." I don't like her. People from Candor always act like they know everything, which, if anything, should be a trait exemplified by Erudite members.

I take a step towards Christina and put my face extremely close to hers.

"What's your name?" I question her softly, but forcefully.

"Christina."

"Well, Christina, if I wanted to put up with Candor smart-mouths, I would have joined their faction. The first lesson you will learn from me is to keep your mouth shut." I emphasize _shut._ "Got that?"

She nods frightfully, and I turn around and continue on towards The Pit. Well at least that's taken care of. Might as well get the problems out of the way now. I learned last year that the best way to stay in control and remind the initiates who's boss is to scare them.

After what seems like an eternity, we finally reach the double doors that open into The Pit, and I push them open. I love this place. I love the way that everything is just free and lighthearted, and I love you how you can just be yourself here. It wasn't like that in Abnegation. I couldn't be myself at all because it would be selfish.

For a few moments, the initiates take in The Pit with awe. I remember being in their position and walking into The Pit for the first time. I loved the chaos and disorder that there was. It was a refreshing change from the orderly streets of Abnegation.

I check my watch. We're late to dinner, but first, I have to show them where bravery draws the line. "If you follow me, I'll show you the chasm."

The new initiates follow me intently, like a kid in a candy store. I stop at the railing at the chasm, and motion for the faction transfers to look over.

"The chasm reminds us that their is a fine line between bravery and idiocy!" I have to shout over the roaring water below. "A daredevil jump off this ledge will end your life. It has happened before and it will happen again. You've been warned."

I let them look over the edge for a few more seconds, hoping they'll understand that it's a suicide mission to jump off. I was told that a few years ago, a man jumped off and was dead in seconds, after breaking his neck on a boulder on the side of the rushing river.

I head towards the large hole in the wall on the other side of The Pit that enters into the cafeteria, and the initiates follow me. When we arrive and step into the cafeteria, I move to the side and let the crowd of Dauntless already in the cafeteria cheer for the potential new members. Then, after the cheering dies down, the faction transfers, still wearing their old faction colors, scramble to find seats in the packed cafeteria. I'm required to sit with some of them for their first meal in Dauntless, so I follow the ones that had been in front of me, which happened to be the first two jumpers, Tris and Christina.

Tonight's dinner is hamburgers and fries, two of my favorite foods since I transferred here. I grab one as I sit down, and begin to put some ketchup between the top hamburger bun and the meat. Next to me is Tris. She's looking at the hamburger like it's some strange substance that she'd never seen before. _Oh yeah. _She hadn't seen it before. The food that they eat in Abnegation is plain and simple, as it would be selfish to indulge themselves.

"It's beef," I tell her. I pass her the small bowl of ketchup. "Put this on it."

Christina looks at her strangely, then snickers. "You've never had a hamburger before?"

"No," Tris seems slightly embarrassed. "Is that what it's called?"

"Stiffs eat plain food," I say to Christina.

"Why?"

Tris shrugs. "Extravagance is considered self-indulgent and unneccessary."

Christina laughs. "No wonder you left."

"Yeah. It was just because of the food."

I smile very, very slightly. Christina will never understand what it's like to be selfless. It was hard for me, and I had to endure it for 16 years. I look at Tris again. She looks familiar, like I've seen her before. I probably have, years ago, at the community gatherings in Abnegation. I never really attended them, though. Maybe once or twice. The more I could get away from my father, the better...

Just then, the crowd of Dauntless goes quiet. I look up and see why. Eric has entered, and it is a sign of respect for the leaders that we all hush up when they are present. Gosh, I hate it. For any other leader, fine, but for Eric? It's like hell.

"Who's that?" Christina whispers.

"His name is Eric," I respond. "He's a Dauntless leader."

"Seriously? But he's so young?"

"Age doesn't matter here."

Eric begins to walk in our direction. _Please don't come over here. Please don't come over here._

But he does. He plops down next to me, not even uttering a "Hello" or "Hi there".

When he does speak, it's in his annoying, I'm-the-greatest-leader-here voice, "Well? Aren't you going to introduce me?" He looks at Tris and Christina.

"This is Tris and Christina." The less I have to say to Eric, the better.

"Ooh, a Stiff," Eric sneers at her. "We'll see how long you last."

There's an awkward silence, then Eric speaks again, this time directed at me. "What have you been doing lately, Four?"

_Shit._ Now I have to talk to him.

"Nothing, really." I mumble.

"Max tells me he keeps trying to meet with you, and you don't show up. He requested that I find out what's going on with you."

Ugh. This again. I really actually don't want him or anyone to talk about the stupid job that Max wants me to have. Well it's not stupid, I mean. It's a Dauntless leadership position. But I don't want it, and I've told Max that about ten million times.

"Tell him that I am satisfied with the position I currently hold."

"So he wants to give you a job."

"So it would seem."

"And you aren't interested."

Well obviously, idiot.

"I haven't been interested for two years."

"Well, let's hope he gets the point then."

Finally, Eric stands up and hits me hard on my shoulder. For a second, I thought he was being rude, but then I realize he's faking some kindness, in the way the other guys do it. Probably just because we have new transfers, and he's trying to get them to like him early on.

Tris nudges me. "Are you two...friends?" she asks.

"We were in the same initiate class," I explain. "He transferred from Erudite."

"Were you a transfer, too?" she questions.

Immediately, I think two things. 1): She doesn't remember me from Abnegation, thank goodness. 2): I can't answer honestly, because then she'll just keep asking more questions, and besides, I keep that part of my life a secret.

"I thought I would only have trouble with the Candor asking too many questions," I say in a tone that will hopefully get her to shut up. "Now I've got Stiffs, too?"

"It must be because you're so approachable," Tris snaps back. "You know. Like a bed of nails."

Little bitch. In less than an hour, I've already got two girls on my radar, and they happen to be the first two jumpers. And one of them is from Abnegation. These next few weeks are going to be _fun._

I look at Tris, and we suddenly are engaged in a staring contest, one that doesn't break. I finally lean closer to her, and whisper, "Careful, Tris."

She turns away, and I hear a voice calling out from behind me.

"Four!" It's Zeke. He's sitting at another table not too far away, with some of our friends. "Come find me after dinner!"

I nod, and turn back to my food. The two girls, who seem to have just finished a little whisper-fest, presumably about me, don't say another word for the rest of dinner.

* * *

After dinner, I find Zeke standing by the chasm, waiting for me. We walk silently through the snakelike tunnels of the Dauntless headquarters towards our destination. Two years of working in the control room has taught the both of us that every move we make is being watched by cameras, and that everything that we say is being recorded.

Ten minutes and one long walk later, we've arrived at a small rooftop, one of the very few places that opens up into the outdoors from Dauntless headquarters. This is also one of the only places in Dauntless that doesn't have a camera.

"Look," Zeke points over the edge, and I look over.

The Erudite are here, and they're pulling boxes out of some sort of huge vehicle. Dauntless leaders are meeting with them, and we can tell it's a very secretive meeting, because everyone keeps looking around them to make sure no one is watching. Luckily, they do not look up at Zeke and I.

"Another shipment?" I ask. Erudite members like these have been here all week, each time bringing boxes and boxes of something that we haven't figured out yet. _We_ meaning Zeke, Tori, and I. Tori found this rooftop earlier this week, after noticing that Eric and some other Dauntless leaders have been disappearing for hours at a time._  
_

"Third one today. Tori was out here earlier." he responds.

"Any idea what it is?"

"We have some theories, but nothing solid."

"It wouldn't be food, right?"

Zeke shakes his head. "We already have enough, and they wouldn't be smuggling it into the Dauntless compound."

I nod. "Want me to keep an eye on Eric these next few weeks? I'm pretty sure he'll be watching the training this year."

"Please do. We have to figure out what they're doing."

With that, we both leave the rooftop, heading back towards the hustle and bustle of the unknowing Dauntless members.

_Please leave reviews and let me know what did and didn't work!_


	3. Chapter 8 (First Day of Training)

_**I do not own nor have the rights to Divergent.**_

**Thank you everyone for all the reviews! Now if only everyone who read it left a review for me! Enjoy this chapter!**

_(Chapter Eight from the book)_

* * *

I get to the training room around five-thirty in the morning. The initiates should be here in about thirty minutes, if anyone actually decides to get up. In the year I was an initiate, two boys ignored the wake-up call, and both were "dismissed" from training. But that's how it works around here. You don't pull your weight, you get kicked out. That was one of the first things I learned when I got here, and that'll be one of the first things I'll teach the new initiates.

I spend the next half hour preparing for my instruction. I load the guns and put them in a pile on a nearby fold-up table. I set up the targets, and then head into the fighting room, down the hall. I set up the punching bags and clean them a tiny bit. When everything is ready, I still have ten minutes until six. I head back into the other room, pick up a gun and fire some shots at one of the targets.

_Boom. Boom. Boom. _All three hit the bulls-eye, dead center.

The door opens at the far end of the room, and the initiates enter, each wearing Dauntless black now. Good. I like the unity that is represented among them now. They cluster in a small group in front of me, and go quiet. I direct each one to a different target and then turn to grab the guns.

"The first thing you will learn today is to shoot a gun," I pick a gun up. "The second thing is how to win a fight." I thrust a gun into Tris's hands, and move on, giving a gun to each of the initiates. "Thankfully, if you are here, you already know how to get on and off a moving train, so I don't need to teach you that." When I am finished speaking and giving each of the initiates a gun, and I turn around to face the nine teens standing before me.

Several of them yawn. They better wake up if they want to learn anything today and eventually pass initiation.

I begin again. "Initiation is divided into three stages. We will measure your progress and rank you according to your performance in each stage. The stages are not weighted equally in determining your final rank, so it is possible, though difficult, to drastically improve your rank."

I feel like I am talking to an empty room. No one is really aware right now. For a second, I contemplate firing a gun shot into the air, but I don't.

"We believe that preparation eradicates cowardice, which we define as the failure to act in the midst of fear. Therefore each stage of initiation is intended to prepare you in a different way. The first stage is primarily physical; the second, primarily emotional; the third, primarily mental."

The Candor boy, whose name, I learn later, is Peter, speaks up, practically yawning the words out of his mouth. "But what... what does firing a gun have to do with... bravery?"

Finally. The perfect way to wake everyone up. I speed towards him and put my gun to his forehead. I even click a bullet into place, to scare him even more. He stands upright, and beads of sweat gather at his temple.

"Wake. Up," I yell. "You are holding a loaded gun, you idiot. Act like it."

I lower the gun, and look around. They're all aware now. Good.

"And to answer your question," I nod towards Peter. "You are far less likely to soil your pants and cry for your mother if you're prepared to defend yourself. This is also information you may need later in stage one. So, watch carefully."

I stand in front of an Erudite boy and set myself up. Feet shoulder-width apart, gun in both hands. I fire once at the target, and hit dead-center.

Then, I watch the initiates each struggle with their techniques. When they begin to fire, I hold myself back from laughing. Not one of the initiates even grazed their targets. It's pitiful.

But, then I remember when I was their age, in my initiation. I doubt I hit the target on my first try, so I stop myself from chuckling aloud at the faction transfers in front of me.

After a while, a few of them begin to solidly hit their target, like Peter and a boy named Edward. Others, however, struggle. I watch as both Al and Tris miss their targets repeatedly. Maybe I'll go help them in a few minutes. I walk on to watch Christina and an Erudite named Will.

A few minutes later, I return to help out Al and Tris, but this time I see that they've both hit the target - Al hit it twice in the lower right, and Tris has hit it multiple times, each time closer and closer to the center. I guess they don't need my help anymore.

Thirty minutes later, I release them to lunch, and I then follow them from a distance. They split off when we reach the bustling cafeteria, and go their separate ways. Peter sits with two other initiates named Molly and Drew, and Edward sits with a girl named Myra, who I later find out is his girlfriend. Christina, Tris, and Al sit together, and a few seconds later, the Erudite boy whose target I used during the shooting, Will, joins them. I look around and spot Zeke, who's sitting with Lauren and a friend of ours named Shauna. I walk towards them, and I'm almost there when a hand grabs my arm from behind and spins me around.

It's Tori. "I need you to come by tonight after you're done training the initiates."

I nod. "Got it." I turn back around and continue on, sitting next to Zeke, across from Lauren and Shauna.

"Hey, bud!" Zeke yells above the roar of the Dauntless around us. He slaps me on the back, and says, "How's your first day of training going?"

"It's good. A few are standing out, but not significantly," I reply.

"Gosh, the initiates in my group are _so_ annoying!" Lauren rolls her eyes. "So cocky and caught up in themselves. I almost miss training the faction transfers!"

"Told you!" I shout. "How's the new job, Shauna?" She just switched from being a tattoo artist to a faction ambassador, two entirely different jobs.

"It's good!" she says. "It's so different though. It's weird sitting in a room with people from a different faction."

I nod, then begin to help myself to the food in front of me. Today's lunch is grilled chicken breasts with some sort of dark orange seasoning on it, and potato chips. I grab a handful of chips and two chicken breasts, and put them on my plate.

Lunch is filled with idle chit-chat about our jobs, a select few Dauntless members, and Shauna's stories from the other factions. Ten minutes before lunch ends, I get up and say my goodbyes, then excuse myself back to the training rules. A good instructor is never late to teaching his pupils.

When the initiates show up, I take them to the fighting room. They each head to a different punching bag. Some of them look at them like they've never seen them before, and they probably haven't.

"As I said this morning," I begin, "next you will learn how to fight. The purpose of this is to prepare you to act; to prepare your body to respond to threats and challenges - which you will need, if you intend to survive life as a Dauntless." I pause, then keep going. "We will go over technique today, and tomorrow you will start to fight each other. So I recommend you pay attention. Those who don't learn fast will get hurt."

I demonstrate a few punches and what they're useful for. Then, I let the initiates start practicing on their punching bags. I weave through the punching bags, watching the initiates. Peter and Edward have good form. They'll be getting high ranks. Molly, Drew, and Will aren't too bad either. Christina, on the other hand, is basically killing her punching bag, and Al looks too scared to touch it. And then there's Tris, who's form is okay, but she's putting too much into it and using her whole body to take one punch. I stop for a second in front of her punching bag, deciding what her strengths and weaknesses are when it comes to fighting.

"You don't have much muscle," I say to her, "which means you're better off using your knees and elbow. You can put more power behind them." She gives me a weird look, and I try to think of what else she needs help with.

Her stomach. She's moving it way too much, swinging it with every punch. I place my hand right on her rib cage, and whisper, "Never forget to keep tension here." I take my hand away, and walk on to help Al.

* * *

About three hours later, I release them to dinner. I begin to walk after them, but then I remember my appointment. Instead of turning towards the cafeteria, I turn towards The Pit and walk through to the other side, to the tattoo parlor where Tori works. I enter, and look around for Tori, but I only see her assistant, a man named Jacob, who I kinda know.

"Is Tori here?" I ask Jacob.

"Back here, Four!" she yells, her voice coming from the back room.

I walk through the tattoo parlor to the back. I've always loved this place. It has dark lighting and deep red wallpaper, and pictures of tattoos are everywhere. Something about the chaos of the room really appeals to me.

"What's up?" I ask Tori when I get to her office in the back of the parlor.

"Well, first of all," she starts, "the Erudite were here today, twice. And guess what? After they left, I ran downstairs to check it out, and they dropped this -" She holds out her palm, and I take the contents of it. It's a vial, holding some sort of maroon liquid. I slosh it around, observing it.

"What is it?" I ask.

"No idea. It looks just like the serum they use in the aptitude tests and in Stage Two of training. But everyone knows we get that from the Erudite, so they obviously wouldn't have to smuggle it into the compound. Any thoughts?"

I think for a second. Honestly, I have no idea. I tell Tori this, and, sighing, she nods. "Oh, by the way," she says, "you have a Divergent in your group this year."

"What? Who? Which one?" I question. If there's a Divergent in my training group, then that means that Eric is already hunting them down. I know that Divergents are dangerous to the system of factions, and the Dauntless leaders will do whatever it takes to get rid of them. For whatever reason, I'm not exactly sure.

A bell rings from the front of the store, signaling that someone has entered the tattoo parlor. I can hear the voices of Al and Will, two of the boys in my initiate group.

"I have to go," Tori says, standing up. "I can't tell you now, but I'm sure you'll figure it out. Let yourself out through the back, will ya?"

And with that, she heads back into the parlor, leaving me to myself and my thoughts.

Who is this new Divergent? How am I supposed to protect them if I don't even know who they are?


	4. Chapter 9 (Initiates' First Fights)

_**I do not own nor have the rights to Divergent.**_

**Thank you all so much for the nice reviews! It means a lot!**

**Sorry for no update over the last few days, I was on a trip, and didn't have my laptop D:**

**To answer iloveaskars's review, I'm not jumping straight to FourTris because I believe that that came later on, and they didn't really get to know each other until the Capture the Flag game. I'm trying to make this as accurate as I can!**

**Enjoy this chapter!**

_(Chapter Nine of Divergent)_

* * *

_I am standing in the center of The Pit. No one is around. I turn in circles, wondering how I got here._

_I close my eyes, and open them slowly. All of a sudden, Eric materializes in front of me._

_"I know what you are," he sneers. "I know what you are, and it's time for you to be gone." He raises his arm, and in his hand is a small black pistol. I squeeze my eyes shut. This is it. I'm going to die. I'm going to die for being Divergent. I'm going to die for being something that I have no control of._

_"I'm going to make this hurt. A lot. And you will die, and no one will be here to save you," Eric finishes. "I'll count down, so it doesn't come as too much of a shock to you."_

_He steps closer to me, and puts the pistol to my head. "Three. Two. One."_

* * *

I sit up in bed, breathing heavily. A dream. That's all it was. A dream. I don't know whether to laugh or cry. It was so... _real._

To the right of my bed, the digital alarm clock reads 5:03. The alarm is set to go off in just a few minutes, so there's no point in going back to bed. I swing my legs over the side of the bed and stand, stretching my muscles. In minutes, I am showered, dressed, and out the door, hoping to sneak into the kitchen unnoticed and grab some food, since the chefs don't turn their stoves on until 5:20.

I'm two steps away from the cafeteria door when someone calls my name. I spin around to see Max walking towards me.

"Hello Max," I greet him with a firm handshake.

"I'm just wondering how training is going. Any promising new Dauntless members?" Max asks me.

"A few," I respond, though I'm so hungry that I can't even remember half of their names right now.

"That's good. I'm counting on you to make a good decision when scoring the initiates."

"Got it," I say, and I mutter a goodbye, and turn back to the cafeteria. I can smell the crisp bacon and hashbrowns, and, sighing, I turn back around and start on my way to the training room, since the food isn't officially served until 5:45. I guess I'll just have to starve until lunch.

As I walk, I remember the conversation that Tori and I had last night. _Who is the new Divergent?_ I wonder. Although I know that I will find out during Stage Two of Training - if that initiate even makes it through Stage One - I'm extremely anxious to find out. The sooner I find out, the sooner I can begin protecting them from Eric and the other Dauntless leaders who are after the Divergents.

In the training room, I write the names of each initiate on the board, determining who will be fighting who on this first day of real combat. There's an odd number, so I decide that Tris will not be fighting today. She's not ready yet, and if I have her fight today, then I'm basically setting her up to fail. But still, after watching her for the first day of initiate training, I admire her devotion to becoming a stronger member, though she's not having much success at it.

I'm down to Will, Al, Molly, and Christina. I don't know whether to have a boy-girl combination or not. Will and Molly are both better trained than Al and Christina. But Christina has been a pain in the ass since the moment that I met her, so I decide to put her with Molly, to secretly and covertly remind her not to mess with me.

The initiates arrive a few moments later, and I immediately begin describing the day's activities. "Since there are an odd number of you," I explain, mostly to Tris, "one of you won't be fighting today." I watch the muscles in her face immediately relax, and I say a silent _You're Welcome_ to her._  
_

Al and Will are up first, and I have to say that I feel a little bad for Al. He's obviously very unfit, and he should be fighting someone more like Tris. But still, if he wants to survive here in Dauntless, then he should be prepared for anything, including fighting someone like Will, who learns quickly.

Their fight is extremely boring, and both keep looking at me as if I'm supposed to tell them to stop after a certain amount of endless circling in the arena. But I don't. That's not how it works around here. Eric, who arrived a few minutes ago, keeps rolling his eyes and muttering under his breath.

He finally yells out, "Do you think this is a leisure activity? Should we break for a nap-time? Fight each other!"

"But is it scored or something?" Al asks. "When does the fight end?"

"It ends when one of you is unable to continue," Eric smirks.

"According to Dauntless rules," I speak out, remembering the training rules from last year. "one of you can also concede."

Eric turns to face me. "According to the _old_ rules," he sneers. "In the _new_ rules, no one concedes."

"A brave man acknowledges the strength of others," I retort.

"A brave man never surrenders," he shoots back.

I narrow my eyes at Eric, sending all my hatred towards him through my eyes.

"This is ridiculous," Al's voice breaks the silence and the glaring. "What's the point of beating him up? We're in the same faction!"

"Oh, you think it's going to be that easy?" Will retorts. "Go on. Try to hit me, slowpoke."

Al throws a punch, but misses. Will is much faster, and much smaller, and therefore, he can move around Al quickly, like a sly cat.

For a few moments, Will is winning, until Al seizes his arm and punches Will square in the jaw. Will slumps down, unconscious. In the end, Al has won.

Eric snickers next to me, like this was all just entertainment for him. "Get him up," Eric sneers at Al.

I turn around, desperate to look at something other then Eric, and I see the chalkboard. I grab the chalk and circle Al's name, to show that he has won.

"Next up - Molly and Christina!" Eric shouts from behind me. I walk over the Al, and take Will from him. Putting my arm around his weight to support him, I walk out the door, headed for the infirmary.

A few minutes later, we arrive, and I give Will over to a nurse, a tall man named Jonathan. He assures me that Will be back in training tomorrow morning. I thank Jonathan, and then I turn around and head back out the door.

I could go back to the training room, but I honestly would rather spend as little time as possible with Eric. Instead, I head to the tattoo parlor, to speak with Tori again. Maybe she'll be more willing today.

"Tori!" I call into the tattoo parlor when I arrive. But instead of Tori's voice calling out to me, it's Jacob's.

"She ain't here today, Four! She's got her day off!" He yells to me.

"When will she be back?" I ask.

"Tomorrow. I can take a message for her though, if ya want!"

"No, it's alright! I'll come back tomorrow!" I say, and head back out of the parlor, off to waste time until lunch is served. I guess I'll have to wait to learn the identity of the new Divergent.


End file.
